It's Not Always What You Think
by borisinwonderland
Summary: Hermione Granger grew up with muggles for parents and when she was told that she was a witch she assumed she was a muggle-born witch but she was wrong. For winter holidays she stays at the Malfoy Manor, where she meets someone special.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
The Invitation

It was December 3rd when Hermione Granger sat down in the Slytherin common room, wondering what she was going to do for her winter holidays. Her muggle parents usually invited her to go back home, but after what had happened between them she wasn't surprised that no owl had arrived for her.

_'I suppose I'll just stay at Hogwarts then. Could look deeper in the restricted section,' _Hermione thought to herself. She didn't mind really, she loved the company of books but would be sad that she wouldn't see her friends for two weeks.

Laughter filled the cold room as Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle entered. Draco spotted Hermione and bounded over to her.

"So Hermione, going anywhere for the holidays?" he asked excitedly, although Hermione couldn't fathom why.

Hermione rolled her eyes and threw a green cushion at him."You know I'm not, and don't you _dare_antagonize me by making me guess what's got you so excited," she threatened playfully.

Draco, looking shocked, answered. "When have I ever done something so cruel to you?"

"Almost every single day," she shook her head. "What's going on?"

"How would you like to spend the holidays with me, Crabbe, and Goyle at the Malfoy Manor?" he asked, looking even more excited than before. Which made Hermione suspicious.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What's the catch?"

"No catch. But...Guys should we tell her?" Draco asked his other friends, who had been staying quiet in fear of ruining the surprise.

"Draco I swear..."she stated as she stood up.

"Alright, alright. Well," he started, not wanting to be hit by Hermione. "You know how I told you about the Dark Lord wanting more followers at Hogwarts?" Hermione nodded. "Well he's going to be testing us to see if we have what it takes to be Death Eaters!" he finished, practically jumping up and down.

Hermione was unsure of how to react. The Dark Lord wanted to test her? Why?

"How did he decide us?" she asked.

"'Cause our parents are Death Eaters, probably," answered Goyle.

"If you haven't noticed Goyle, my parents are dead," she had been brought up by muggles but that summer she had found out that she was in fact a pure-blood witch. They had gotten into an argument with them about not being told sooner and was why she wasn't going back for the holidays. "And we're unsure of where my parents stood," she snapped. She knew it wasn't his fault, and that she shouldn't have snapped at him but sometimes it just happened.

"Er...yes well Father said for you to come too, so maybe the Dark Lord knows how exceptionally brilliant you are," Draco said awkwardly. He knew how touchy the subject of her parents was and didn't want to upset her.

Hermione giggled a bit. "Well, when you put it that way, I see no reason why I shouldn't go."

Everyone smiled, although Draco was the happiest of them all. He loved spending time with Hermione, and was hoping that he would take this opportunity to tell her how he felt.

"Through all this excitement you three haven't forgotten about your Transfiguration and Potions essays due tomorrow have you?" she inquired, knowing full well that they hadn't started.

The boys looked around sheepishly, looking guilty.

"I swear you would all lose your heads if I weren't here," she shook her head disapprovingly.

"Could you...umm," Crabbe started.

"Perhaps..." Goyle tried to finish what Crabbe had started.

"Please help us!" they all cried out in unison. Hermione sighed then laughed. She started to head towards to the portrait door.

"To the library!" she exclaimed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Arrival

The two weeks had gone by quickly for the four 6th years. Crabbe, Goyle and Draco were the most excited for the arrival of the holidays, Hermione however was a little worried. She couldn't help but wonder about why Voldemort would need witches and wizards, who are barely of age, to do his bidding. She knew he had very powerful sorcerer's on his side, and she just couldn't fathom why he would need them.

She tried to put her doubts away for she knew they would do her no good. She had to impress him and that's all that mattered. Since Draco had told her about the holidays, Hermione had been practicing her potions and spells almost non-stop. She had also taught herself occlumency, for she knew that it would do no good to have the Dark Lord inside of her head. It had been a grueling task, but she knew she had to do it. She just hoped it would be enough.

The train whistled, pulling Hermione out of her thoughts. They had left for King's Cross Station. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Hermione all walked into the last compartment of the train, kicking two 3rd years out at the same time. Hermione took a window seat and was very surprised when Draco sat down next to her. He sat so close that their thighs were touching. Hermione had to fight the urge to scream at him. It wasn't that she didn't like Draco, on the contrary, he was her best friend, but she just didn't like him that way. Nor had she liked any boy that way.

"What do you think we'll have to do?" asked Crabbe.

"Father refused to tell me when I asked him. He said that it was to be a surprise,"Draco said scowling. He was so used to having his way and not knowing was killing him.

"We'll probably have to duel, and perhaps brew some potions," Hermione answered. She had given it a lot of thought, and figured that those answers made sense.

"Maybe an agility course," said Goyle, looking distraught at the thought of running.

Everyone laughed and continued talking until the train had stopped at their destination. They got off the train in silence , clearly all pondering what lay ahead of them.

Crabbe, Goyle, and Hermione followed Draco through the crowd of people until they were in front of four house elves.

"Everyone take an house elf. We'll be apparating there," said Draco smugly. Hoping to impress Hermione. But, much to his dismay, she was talking to one of the house elves. She bent down and shook the house elf's hand.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. What's your name?" she asked politely.

"Marsh miss," she said sounding scared. Hermione smiled reassuringly at Marsh, hoping to ease her discomfort.

Draco thought he was dreaming. Hermione was treating the house elf like an equal! He cleared his throat and spoke. "Come on then Marsh," he snapped.

Marsh shook violently and said, "Yes master." Hermione glared at Draco, but was soon interrupted by Marsh.

"Grab your luggage miss," she said, still sounding frightened but held onto Hermione's hand like her life depended on it. Hermione squeezed Marsh's hand slightly as to say thanks, and grabbed her trunk with her other hand.

Marsh and the other house elves snapped their fingers and in two seconds the eight of them were standing in front of the gates of Malfoy Manor.

…

A/N:

I know Bella and Hermione haven't met yet, and I'm sorry, but I promise they will in the next chapter.

Happy reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Meeting

Saying that the Malfoy Manor was large would be an understatement. It was huge and even had iron gates surrounding its perimeter. Hermione couldn't help but stare at its dark beauty, even the weather seemed to understand that this was a dark place and should look as such. Hermione was pulled back into reality when Marsh gave a tug on her hand.

"Come miss," Marsh said politely. Nodding her head, Hermione followed Draco and the others into the manor.

If Hermione had thought the exterior of the house was amazing it was nothing compared to the interior. The front hall seemed to go on together, laced with black. Here and there you could get a glimpse of gold, even if you couldn't see it directly.

Immediately they were greeted by Mrs and Mr. Malfoy, Draco's parents.

"Draco!" Mrs. Malfoy said delightedly, hugging her only son.

"Hello Mum," Draco replied, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment. "Hi Dad," he said next. There was no physical interaction between the two, just swift hellos.

"Welcome boys, how wonderful to see you again," Mrs. Malfoy said, being as polite as she could, for she saw that their faces had specks of chocolate on them.

"Hello Mrs. Malfoy. Thank for letting us stay for the holidays. You too Mr. Malfoy," Crabbe and Goyle said in unison, almost as if they had rehearsed it.

Next was Hermione's turn. She politely raised her right hand to shake the elder woman's hand. Her other hand was still occupied by Marsh.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay Mrs. Malfoy," they shook hands.

Mrs. Malfoy smiled. "Glad you could join us dear," she liked Hermione a lot more then she did the boys. She was polite and clearly compassionate. Even though Mrs. Malfoy liked that someone else besides herself was nice to house elves, Mr. Malfoy did not. He scowled at the sight of Hermione and Marsh holding hands.

Hermione was about to thank Mr. Malfoy as well, except he spoke first.

"House elves," he snapped. Marsh flinched and Hermione held onto her hand tighter. "Leave us and prepare dinner with the other house elves," he said rudely.

"Yes master," the house elves replied. Hermione looked at Marsh sympathetically as she disapparated somewhere within the manor. In that moment, Hermione decided that she did not like Mr. Malfoy and did not say thank you to him.

Mrs. Malfoy, noticing the tension in the air between Draco's female guest and her husband, and decided to change the subject.

"Now that you're all here, why don't you go unpack. Draco, will you show everyone to their rooms please?" she asked. Draco nodded and was about to start walking away when another person entered the room. Hermione almost gasped but caught herself before she could. In front of them was a very attractive woman, clad in black.

"Weren't going to leave before I got a proper 'hello', were we Draco?"the woman spoke. The woman's eyes traveled across the boys until her eyes landed on Hermione. Something about Hermione was drawing the woman in, yet the woman didn't know why.

"Of course not Aunt Bellatrix," Draco responded coldly. Hermione just about hit him. _'Why would anyone speak to her like that?' _Hermione thought to herself.

No one had seemed to notice that Hermione and Bellatrix were starring at each other, except for Mrs. Malfoy. She coughed and touched Bellatrix's shoulder, bring her back to reality.

"Bellatrix, these are Draco's friends. Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Hermione Granger," Mrs. Malfoy gestured to each of them as she spoke their names. "And this is Bellatrix Black, my sister," she said thoughtfully. "Now, you four. Go. Dinner will be served in an hour."

Hermione had started to follow Draco down the hall when she turned around and spoke.

"Nice to meet you Miss Black," Hermione quickly turned away, feeling slightly embarrassed but she didn't know why.

Bellatrix tried to say something back but was cut off by her sister's husband, who seemed to have a skill in cutting people off.

"I'll be in the study," he announced before leaving the two sisters alone in the hall. Bellatrix stuck her tongue out at his back and snickered. She turned back to her sister and noticed the disapproving look she was getting.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Come with me Bella," she grabbed her arm. "We need to talk."

...

A/N:

I was going to put this up tomorrow, but I felt bad not introducing Bella in the second chapter so here she is!

Happy reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Instead of referring to Lucius and Narcissa as Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy I've decided just to use their first names. Just a heads up! Enjoy :)**

Chapter 4

Late Nights

When Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, and Hermione arrived in the dining room Bellatrix and Draco's parents were already there waiting for them. It took Bellatrix all of her self control not too look at Hermione. Her sister had been adamant about leaving the girl alone during their conversation.

* earlier that evening *

_They walked into one of the many rooms of the manor. The younger sister closed the door._

"_What's going on Cissy?" Bellatrix hissed._

_Narcissa shook her head. "Bella I saw you."_

_The raven haired witch stared at her, not understanding what her sister was talking about. "Elaborate."_

"_The way you looked at Hermione. You've never had that look before. What are you thinking?" Narcissa asked worryingly._

_Bellatrix stood still, not knowing what to say. "I don't know what you mean."_

"_You know exactly what I mean. Are you mad Bella? Do you know how old she is?" she said as she grabbed her sister's shoulders. Bellatrix shook her off._

"_I don't like what you're implying Cissy," she snapped._

_Narcissa let out a sigh. "Look, just stay away from her alright?"_

"_You're not the boss of me," she retorted in a childish tone._

"_Bella you know what will happen," Bellatrix looked away. "She'll get hurt Bella," and that was what she needed to hear._

"_Fine Cissy," she spat. Bellatrix hurried past her sister and the room._

* present *

"Sorry if we kept you waiting," said Hermione as she sat down.

"Yes well be sure it doesn't happen again," Lucius snapped at Hermione. Bellatrix's head shot up wanting to hit him but Narcissa gave her a glare and she returned to starring at the table cloth. The interaction did not go unnoticed by Hermione and was curious as to what was going on.

Lucius clapped his hands and seven house elves appeared with their dinner. Marsh was carrying Hermione's plate.

"Thank you Marsh," Hermione said before the elves disappeared. This gained her another disapproving look from Lucius.

Narcissa, noticing the look, decided to speak.

"Let's eat," she declared.

Once dinner was complete, Lucius decided to tell the four Slytherins what was to happen tomorrow.

"I'm sure you all wish to know when and how you will be evaluated by the Dark Lord," three heads shook enthusiastically whereas Hermione sat perfectly still.

Bellatrix thought that at this point it was safe to look up, also she wanted to see Hermione's reactions and was surprised at how Hermione sat almost uncomfortably still.

"Tomorrow you will all duel each other. You are allowed to use any spell except for the killing curse, can't have you all killing each other,"Lucius said jokingly. Although, no one laughed. He cleared his throat and continued. "Then the next day you will be brewing potions," he paused. "By memory."

The boys groaned, yet Hermione was still still.

_'How odd,' _Bellatrix thought to herself. _'Perhaps I'll take a look and see what she's thinking.'_ Almost as soon as Bellatrix had entered Hermione's she was shut out.

Hermione looked around the table until her eyes saw a very confused looking Bellatrix Black. She stopped listening to Lucius, whose voice was boring her, and instead began to ponder why Bellatrix was trying to enter her mind. She didn't know why then, but she was determined to find out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was two a.m. when Hermione got out of her bed. She hadn't been able to sleep so she decided to explore the manor a bit, perhaps even find Marsh. Although the one person she hadn't expected to see was Bellatrix.

Hermione entered a room that resembled a small library. Books surrounded the walls with a fireplace on the west wall and a couch in front of it. She saw the unruly black curls and knew it was Bellatrix.

Bellatrix heard the footsteps and spoke.

"Who is it?" she said harshly.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you Miss Black," Hermione answered. The raven haired woman turned around to face the new body in the room. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw who it was.

"Oh, it's you," she said trying to sound nonchalant. "What are you doing here?It's pretty late."

Hermione stepped further into the room. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd explore a bit," she answered hoping that the gorgeous Death Eater in front of her couldn't see that she was flustered.

However she did notice. Bellatrix stood up and walked over to Hermione.

Not knowing what to do, Hermione didn't move. By now Bellatrix was so close that the younger witch could smell her perfume. _'Like...lilacs' _she thought.

"It's dangerous to be walking alone here at night," Bellatrix whispered into Hermione's ear. "You never know what kind of evil will jump out at you from the shadows."

Hermione shivered slightly, to which Bellatrix giggled softly.

"Cold are we?" she asked in a playful tone. Hermione shook her head.

"No? Hmph, that's too bad," and with that she walked away. Leaving Hermione to wonder what she meant.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The Duel

Hermione did not fall asleep that night. Her mind had been racing with thoughts of Bellatrix.

_Knock knock_

"Come in," Hermione said. She was hoping to see a certain dark haired witch, but instead Draco appeared. He peaked his head through the door and gave a quick glance around the room before speaking.

"Morning, did you sleep well?" he asked while smiling. Hermione just nodded in response. "Good. Right, I'm supposed to tell you that breakfast is in ten minutes."

"Thank you Draco. I'll be there shortly," and with that he closed the door.

She pushed Bellatrix out of her mind. She needed to concentrate for the duel this afternoon.

Hermione opened her trunk and pulled out a pair of black jeans and a plain black shirt that showed just enough cleavage. That was pretty much how the rest of her clothes looked as well. All black. Other colours just annoyed her. Although, she did remember a time when her mother, well adoptive mother, made her wear a pink frilly dress to a party. Hermione had not been very pleased about that.

She made her way downstairs and into the dining room, but there was no one there. Confused, she started walking around, hoping that she would find the room. While searching, she had not noticed someone come up behind her.

"Boo," was whispered into Hermione's ear. Hermione jumped forwards, quickly grabbed her wand, and then spun around. It was Bellatrix.

"My my, aren't we jumpy today," Bellatrix smirked and stepped closer to Hermione. She brought her hand up to Hermione's cheek. "Didn't sleep well? Hope I didn't scare you," Bellatrix chuckled.

"You didn't scare me!" Hermione said defensively. "I just have things on my mind is all," at this Bellatrix cocked an eyebrow.

"What sort of things?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione's cheeks started to redden but did not get a chance to answer, as they were interrupted.

"Oh, there you are Hermione!" Draco exclaimed as he walked up the hallway towards them. "I just realized that I didn't tell you where we eat breakfast. I figured you might have gotten lost or..." his voice trailed off as he noticed how close Hermione and his aunt were to each other. Draco also noticed that Hermione had her wand drawn. "Is everything okay here?" he asked suspiciously.

_'Oh great. Now Draco will tell Cissy and I'll be in trouble again,' _Bellatrix pouted to herself.

"Everything is fine Draco. Come on, let's go eat," Hermione said, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the way he had come.

_'Damn Malfoys, always interrupting...' _the frustrated Bellatrix thought, before turning around with a huff towards the library.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Breakfast was over and it was almost time for the four Hogwarts students to go outside and duel. No one had spoken during the meal. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were nervous about the dueling while Hermione had been nervous about something else.

_'Oh Merlin, I was definitely blushing earlier! I don't understand. It's like when I see her I can't think straight...What the hell is going on?' _Hermione thought to herself.

Spurring the Slytherin's out of their thoughts, Lucius walked into the breakfast room and declared that it was time.

They followed Lucius to the back of the manor and soon found themselves outside. There was an elevated surface similar to the dueling set at Hogwarts that was in front of a throne like chair. In it resided Voldemort. At one end of the black, wooden surface was Bellatrix, while Narcissa was on the other side. Lucius quickly made his way to his wife's side and left the Slytherin's standing near the black, wooden surface.

"Today shall be the first of three tests. We shall not waste time," Voldemort said hastily. "Crabbe will be dueling Goyle first, and then Hermione and Draco shall duel. The only rule is that you may not use the killing curse," Voldemort told them. "Now, let's start. Draco and Hermione, you may go stand at either ends of the table."

Crabbe and Goyle made their way onto the surface and stood in the middle facing each other. Draco made his way other to his mother, which left Hermione to go stand with Bellatrix.

Bellatrix watched Hermione as she made her way over to her. The young witch had definitely intrigued Bellatrix and she could not wait to see the brunette duel. Hermione tried desperately not to look at Bellatrix, for fear that she would get terribly distracted.

Bellatrix was lucky that Narcissa and herself were so far away from each other, so she could not see the warning stare that her sister was giving her.

Once everyone was settled, Voldemort stood up and spoke.

"Wands at the ready," Crabbe and Goyle both raised their wands to their faces and nodded to each other respectfully. Then they turned around and each headed closer to the edge of the table. When Voldemort said begin, they both turned around and Crabbe was the first to cast a spell.

The battle lasted awhile, each of them refusing to give up. But when Goyle tripped on his own feet, Crabbe had the perfect opportunity and sent him flying 20 meters off of the dueling area. The duel hadn't been especially entertaining, but nonetheless, Crabbe won.

During the duel Hermione and Bellatrix had been stealing glances at each other. Occasionally the two eyes met and Hermione would give an embarrassing smile, looking guilty for having been caught looking at the dark haired beauty. Every once in awhile, Bellatrix would lightly run her fingers down Hermione's back and the brunette would respond with a shiver and an almost silent whimper.

Crabbe had stepped down from the table and stood next to Narcissa, Lucius, and Draco while Goyle was still recuperating far behind Bellatrix and Hermione. Voldemort gave the signal for the next two duelists to get onto the table. Before Hermione climbed up, Bellatrix grabbed her arm and whispered into her ear.

"Don't lose to him my pet," Bellatrix spoke softly, sending another round of chills through Hermione's body. Words had escaped Hermione and all she could do was nod.

Draco and Hermione made their way to the center and rose their wands when Voldemort told them too. Draco looked into her eyes almost apologetically, but Hermione didn't give any sign of recognition. They turned around and made their way to their respectable sides. As soon as Voldemort had said begin, a spell left Hermione's wand.

"Impedimenta!" Hermione yelled out. Draco quickly cast a protego that knocked off the jinx.

"Stupefy!" Draco yelled right after using protego. Hermione dodged out of the way and quickly cast her next spell.

"Locomotor Draco!" Draco hadn't been fast enough and now Hermione had completely control over Draco's body. She rose him into the air and then quickly slashed her wand downwards, smashing Draco into the table. She then released her hold on him, and allowed him to get back up. It was obvious that she was toying with him, a fact that made Bellatrix giggled with glee.

_'I see that someone likes to toy with her victims,' _Bellatrix's voice rang throughout Hermione's head. Hermione knew better than to turn around but she did take a moment to expel Bellatrix out of her mind. She didn't need a distraction.

Draco soon stood up and cast serpensortia. A snake ejected from Draco's wand and onto the table. The snake slithered its way towards Hermione, but she quickly got rid of the snake. Draco sent spell after spell towards Hermione but she just casually flicked them off.

After giving a chance for Draco to show off some of his spells, Hermione quickly turned the tables. She cast oppungo at a set of rocks nearby and sent them flying towards Draco. He managed to avoid some, but not all. He groaned as one hit his thigh and as another hit him in the stomach. After that, Hermione cast confringo on the rocks and they burst into flames, causing Draco's clothes to catch on fire. He quickly cast auguamenti on himself and the flames were gone, but his skin had still burned.

Wanting to end the duel with a bang, Hermione wordlessly cast fiendfyre in the form of a panther and sent it after Draco. When he saw it, Draco began to slowly back away and once the fire came closer he was soon running off of the table. The fire panther did catch up to him, but because Hermione's intent wasn't to kill Draco, so it merely made his flesh unbearable hot. Once Draco ran off of the table the duel was over and she retracted her spell.

Hermione quickly stepped down from the table and made her way over to Draco. She cast episkey to heal his minor cuts and then she cast ferula to bandage him up.

"Sorry Draco," she said to him. Draco just looked at her dumbfounded. He had no idea that she was able to cast the dangerous fiendfyre curse and reminded himself never to piss Hermione off again.

"Come here you four," Voldemort beckoned the Slytherin's over. Hermione helped Draco up and they each made their way to Voldemort. "You all had good duels," he said calmly. "Tomorrow is potion brewing so I suggest you study some potions. Now leave, rest, and study," he stated. Each of them went to move but then Voldemort spoke again. "Hermione. You stay," Hermione looked into his eyes and nodded.

Voldemort beckoned for his Death Eaters Lucius and Bellatrix to go over to him as well. Once Narcissa, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco were gone Lucius decided to speak.

"How dare you?!" Lucius spat at Hermione. "You could have killed him!" Hermione turned to Lucius and gave him a glare.

"I knew what I was doing!" she hissed. Bellatrix was about to jump in as well but Voldemort spoke first.

"Enough!" that shut everyone up. "Yes Lucius you are right. That was dangerous, but," Voldemort continued. "It certainly was intriguing. How is it you know such a spell?" he asked the youngest witch.

"The restricted section in the library sir," Hermione responded respectably. Voldemort nodded.

"Good. Well I must say that I am most certainly impressed with your ability to manipulate the fire. You should feel honored, receiving a praise from me. As Lucius can attest too, it does not happen often," Voldemort chuckled slightly.

"Thank you," Hermione said.

Bellatrix's eyes stared at Hermione with excitement in them. She hadn't been this excited in awhile. The sight of Hermione dueling and toying with her victim was very hot for her, and she could barely stop herself from grabbing the girl right then and there. Hermione seemed to feel Bellatrix's stare and glanced at her. Hermione gave her a slight smile and then returned her attention to Voldemort.

"You may leave now, and good luck for tomorrow," Voldemort said and gestured for her to leave. Hermione nodded, turned around, and began walking back towards the manor.

Bellatrix started to go after her but her master stopped her.

"My Lord?" she asked.

"Relax Bella, you can see her later," he said, giving her a knowing look. Bellatrix's cheeks blushed slightly but it was barely noticeable.

"My Lord, I do understand that what Hermione did was impressive but it was also very dangerous. Draco could have been killed," Lucius stated. Voldemort waved his hand to silence him.

Bellatrix gave Lucius a smug look and gave a slight, inaudible laugh.

"I understand your concerns but the only rule was to not use the killing curse, which she did not. And besides, she was in full control of the fire," the Dark Lord said. "She has quite the gift, one that will most certainly be useful to our cause. Draco did put up a fair fight, so of course he is to be considered as well. As for Crabbe and Goyle...well I don't think there is much to say about them. Unless their potion making skills are brilliant tomorrow then I don't believe that there is much hope for them. Now, you may go and be sure to finish the preparations for tomorrow's evaluation," Voldemort ordered.

Lucius and Bellatrix answered with 'yes my Lord' and they each made their way back to the manor.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know that Hermione hated Divination but I thought it would be interesting if she didn't hate it and was actually quite good at it. Sorry if you don't like the idea, but I'm sticking with it so that it helps me in later chapters. Also, the class of Alchemy is not mentioned in the books or movies but it is mentioned in Pottermore and I wanted to add it here because I found it interesting. Enjoy ~**

Chapter 6

The Lake

Hermione had spent the rest of the day looking through various dark arts tomes found in the Malfoy's library. The others were studying for tomorrow's evaluation but she didn't feel the need. She knew that she would be fine.

Hours passed and soon it was dinner. They had all been called to the dining room and everyone made sure that they were on time. Everyone except Lucius was seated, as he wanted to speak before the meal began.

"You all did a fine job today," Lucius began, looking at all the Slytherin's except for Hermione. "I hope you have all studied well for tomorrow, because what Bellatrix and I have prepared is going to be difficult. Now, with that said, let's eat!" he exclaimed and sat in his seat.

Tonight, Bellatrix had placed herself so that she was in front of Hermione. This act did not go unnoticed by Hermione or Narcissa. Narcissa had had another chat with her older sister but she finally realized that there was no getting through to her and decided to give up. All she could do now was give Bellatrix knowing looks that would hopefully remind Bellatrix not to do anything.

Seven house elves apparated into the dining room, each with a plate. Marsh again held Hermione's plate.

"Thank you very much Marsh," Hermione said sweetly and put her hand on Marsh's shoulder to give her comfort. Marsh smiled back at Hermione and then disapparated along with the other house elves.

They ate in silence for a little while before Narcissa decided to start a conversation.

"So, Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, Hermione," she said, gesturing to each other as she spoke. "What are your best and favourite classes?" The Slytherin's looked up from their food and then at each other to figure out who would speak first.

"I'd have to say Charms is my favourite but I'm better at Herbology," Crabbe answered softly. Not wanting to go into much detail. Goyle, however, was more of a bragger.

"Transfiguration is my favourite and best subject. I'm almost top in the class," Goyle said proudly.

Draco looked to Hermione who had just put some food into her mouth which meant that he was next to speak.

"Defense against the dark arts is my best subject, and I suppose it's my favourite as well," he said quickly, not wanting any comments on it.

Next was Hermione's turn. Bellatrix hadn't been listening to the other three's answers, but was now listening intently on what Hermione was going to say.

"I'm top in all of my classes," Hermione started. To Lucius it sounded as if she was bragging, but Hermione was simply stating what was true. "And my favourite class is Divination," she finished. At this Lucius laughed.

"Divination? That load of crap?" he said, insulting Hermione.

Hermione kept herself composed as much as she could, but her patience was wearing thin with this man.

"It is not a load of crap. It is a very intricate and delicate way of seeing what lays before us," Hermione stated.

Bellatrix looked at Hermione queerly. She hadn't expected Hermione to enjoy Divination. She had expected her to say potions or defense against the dark arts. However, Hermione's answer just made her more intriguing to Bellatrix.

"It is inaccurate and misleading. It is a useless subject," Lucius kept on, making Hermione's patience very low.

Hermione decided that it was best to keep her mouth shut before she insulted her host, even though she really wanted to. Narcissa decided to speak up, and stop Lucius from saying anything more.

"When I was your age, my favourite subject was the study of ancient runes. I found them very interesting. How about you Bella?" Narcissa asked her sister.

Bellatrix turned to Narcissa with a stunned expression. She hadn't been expecting to be asked anything.

Hermione looked at Bellatrix and tilting her head, obviously wanting to hear the dark witch's answer.

"I fancied potions myself. Although I did find alchemy very fascinating," Bellatrix responded, and then went back to eating.

When Bellatrix looked back up, she saw Hermione giving her a small smile. Bellatrix smiled back and then turned her attention to Draco, who was currently ogling Hermione. Bellatrix's face soon contorted into a predatory scowl and was about to snap at Draco when a voice popped into her head.

_'Don't mind Draco, he just has a crush is all,' _Hermione's voice rang through Bellatrix's head. Bellatrix turned her attention back to Hermione, and the scowl that had been on her face seconds before vanished.

_'Well, I think he needs to get over his crush soon,' _Bellatrix's voice slightly hissed through Hermione's head. Hermione gave a small smirk but didn't respond.

Soon, everyone was finished their meals and began to stand up to leave the dining room. Hermione followed suit, and followed the other Slytherin's to one of the lounging rooms. As she was leaving though, Bellatrix's voice appeared in her head again.

_'Midnight, tonight. By the lake. Be there,' _Bellatrix said, and by her tone Hermione could tell that she wasn't asking. She decided not to respond and began to talk to Crabbe and his duel.

Draco led them all to the lounge area furthest away from the dining room and told everyone to find a place to sit and to make themselves comfortable.

"How are you feeling Draco?" Hermione asked curiously. Hoping that she hadn't burned him too badly.

Draco gave a slight nod showing that he was okay, and then Crabbe began talking about his duel with Goyle.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was eleven o'clock when Crabbe and Goyle decided to go to bed. This pleased Draco very much because it meant that he and Hermione would be alone.

Hermione noticed this and tried to leave too but Draco insisted that she stayed.

"Hermione I didn't know that you knew fiendfyre," Draco said. "When did you learn that?" he asked.

"In our fourth year," she answered calmly. She really didn't want to be here talking with Draco. She knew of his crush and didn't want to lead him on, but she also didn't want to be rude.

"Really? Wow! You really are the brightest witch of our age aren't you?" Draco said, beaming. Hermione just nodded and gave a tiny smile. "You know, maybe sometime you can teach me..."Draco said, trailing off.

Hermione sat there, feeling nervous. She didn't like where he was going. Hermione figured that somewhere in this conversation he would turn it into a date and she could not have that.

"Draco, I don't think that that is a good idea. I'm sorry, but I have to say no," Hermione stated, giving him an apologetic look. "Now, I think I will be going to bed. Good night Draco," she said nicely before leaving, not giving him a chance to say anything.

Hermione made her way through the many hallways of Malfoy Manor and eventually found the door that led to the backyard. She had to walk for awhile but she still arrived at the lake fifteen minutes early. However, Bellatrix was also early.

"A little early aren't you?" Hermione asked and she walked closer to Bellatrix.

Bellatrix turned around and smirked at Hermione's comment.

"I could say the same to you."

Hermione didn't answer, instead Bellatrix led her to a large tree where they could sit and rest their backs on it.

"You were quite impressive today," Bellatrix stated, staring off into the water.

"Well, you did tell me not to lose," the young witch reminded her with a playful tone.

"Hm, it's good to know that you will do as I ask," Bellatrix flirted. Hermione's cheeks reddened at the comment and was unsure of how to answer. "Have I rendered Hermione Granger speechless?" Bellatrix taunted.

Hermione playfully pushed Bellatrix's arm and instead of removing her hand, she let it linger there. Her fingertips tracing unseen lines on her skin. Bellatrix leaned in to Hermione's touch and they just sat there.

The night should have been filled with cold air, but the heating charm that Bellatrix had cast earlier on the area left it nice and cozy. There were few ripples in the lake, and occasionally a bird would fly by overhead. It truly was a nice night.

Soon, Bellatrix took Hermione's arm and guided her onto her lap. Hermione's legs were now on either side of Bellatrix, with her arms on her shoulders. The dark witch placed her own arms around Hermione and brought the girl closer to her. When Hermione was in reach, Bellatrix moved her face forward and captured Hermione's lips.

Hermione quickly started kissing Bellatrix back. Each kiss becoming more heated and passionate. Hermione's hands found their way to the back of Bellatrix's head and tangled themselves in her black curls.

Bellatrix sharply bit Hermione's bottom lip, which made Hermione moan. The sound made something animalistic stir inside of Bellatrix and she dug her nails into the bright witch's back. Hermione gasped and Bellatrix took the opportunity to slip her tongue into Hermione's mouth.

They continued like this for some time until they heard a twig snap behind them. The two witches slowly moved apart and looked behind the tree to see the intruder. When Hermione saw who it was she quickly jumped off of Bellatrix and promptly fell to the ground. It was Lucius.

"Having fun are we?" he asked. Bellatrix stood up and almost growled at him. She would not let him go for ruining her fun.

"What do you want?" she glared at him. Hermione looked at the two, decided to stand up, and stood close to Bellatrix.

"Just taking a stroll around my property Bella. Is there something wrong with that?" he smirked. Bellatrix moved to pull out her wand but Hermione quickly grabbed her hand. Now Lucius moved his gaze onto Hermione, and his expression turned into a glare. He was aware of his son's crush on the girl and did not want his heart to be crushed because of Hermione's attraction to Bellatrix.

"I believe you should be sleeping Ms. Granger," he almost hissed. "You have a very important day tomorrow don't you?" he said, nodding his head towards the Manor.

Bellatrix glowered at him while Hermione just quickly nodded and began to walk away. Bellatrix went to follow after her but Lucius had drawn his wand, preventing Bellatrix from advancing. Lucius began to speak once he knew that Hermione was out of range.

"Tsk tsk Bella. Falling for another witch? Have you no taste?" he snarled.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she growled, and quickly pulled out her wand before he had time to react.

"I don't appreciate what you're doing. Nor do I think that your dear nephew will appreciate it," Lucius started. "She is 16 years old for Merlin's sake! What makes you think this will work?"

"Look Malfoy, this is no business of yours. The Dark Lord himself is fond of her, and showed no views of a relationship between the two of us inappropriate or not allowed. You were there," she hissed, and began to walk slowly.

"Relationship? Please Bella you jest," he spat. "As long as you are in my house I will have nothing of this."

Bellatrix thought of this. Although after quick deliberation she did not like it. Bellatrix always got what she wanted. Always.

She whispered expelliarmus so that Lucius would not hear her and his wand quickly flew out of his hand. Next she cast obliviate on him so that he would forget seeing Hermione and their 'meeting'. Bellatrix smirked as he fell to the ground, and then made her way back to the Manor, excited for the days to come.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay so today is the potions evaluation! Now, some of the potions weren't mentioned in the books but are apart of the Harry Potter Trading Card Game or the video games. Also, for Hermione's potion I am adding an ingredient to make it a little more interesting. Enjoy ~**

Chapter 7

Potions

On the second day of evaluations it was clear that three of the Slytherins were tired from studying the night before. Hermione however was well rested, even after going to bed at a late hour.

This day, the sun could only be seen in streaks emerging from the clouds. The clouds were stubborn about not wanting the sun's rays to touch the earth. There were no birds, and the air was quiet.

Today was the potions test. The Slytherins were to concoct a potion from memory. All the ingredients were provided for them and each Slytherin had a specific potion to brew.

Crabbe, Goyle, Draco, and Hermione all emerged from the manor looking serious, but only one had an air of confidence to them. They made their way to where Voldemort, Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix all stood. There was a huge cabinet that was filled with all kinds of ingredients, and there was four stations. Each with a cauldron and the proper tools.

"Welcome. Gather round and I will explain what you will be doing," Voldemort stated while the four students situated themselves with the others. "As you know, you will be brewing potions from memory. Each of you will have a different potion to brew and there are a multitude of ingredients for you all to choose from when concocting your potions. You all have an hour to complete your potions and hand them in. Then, we have some muggles to test the potions out afterward. Now, questions?" he said, looking at them all. When no one spoke he sent them to their proper stations and said begin.

Crabbe was to make a baneberry potion, while Goyle made an exploding potion that was often used by Snatchers. Draco had a slightly more difficult potion to do and that was a strength potion.

As soon as Hermione saw the potion she was to make she scowled. It was the potion that Harry Potter had done better at than she. Draught of the living dead. It wasn't that she did not know how to brew it, on the contrary. After that class when Harry Potter had beat her she practiced that potion until she knew that she could brew it better than anyone, especially the Boy Who Lived.

Quickly gathering her thoughts, she went to the cabinet to get the ingredients that she would need. With her wand she levitated a jar of water, root of asphode, infusion of wormwood, valerian root, and a sophophorous bean over to her station. She searched for knotgrass but was surprised to find none. As she only needed it at the end of the potion she decided to leave it and search again once the potion was basically complete.

Behind her, Bellatrix watched Hermione with fascination at how swiftly she moved. How her curly brown mane bounced with each step she took. The Death Eater carefully watched Hermione create her potion, fully aware that the young witch knew she was being watched.

The hour was almost up with only five minutes left. So far Draco seemed to be finished, while Crabbe and Goyle struggled to finish their potions. Hermione was back at the cabinet, looking for the one ingredient she needed, but it was not there. She was getting frustrated. She needed that knotgrass. Suddenly Hermione remembered something. Last night while she was by the lake with Bellatrix there were flowers, herbs, and knotgrass! A bright smile appeared on her face as she said accio knotgrass and knotgrass flew into her hand. She placed the few pieces of knotgrass into her brew and blew on it twice. She was done.

"Time!" Lucius yelled. Hermione looked at her potion with a satisfied smile. She knew that her potion was done perfectly. The brunette glanced around at her housemates. Draco seemed pleased with his potion, while the other two were skeptical about that they had just made.

Everyone put some of their brew into a vial and laid them down on a table that had just appeared.

"Bellatrix," Voldemort started. "Bring out the muggles."

The black haired witch smiled and disapparated quickly, but reappeared just as quickly with the three muggles. They looked awful. Clothes torn, dirty, hair all in disarray, hands were tied, and you could see the marks of abuse that they all held.

"Baneberry potion," Voldemort said and Lucius was quick to grab Crabbe's potion. The male Death Eater forced the red liquid down a male muggles' throat and stepped back to see what would happen. Instead of it working as a poison like it was supposed to, boils appeared all over the man's body. Within moments, the man exploded into dust, leaving almost everyone looking surprised. "Impressive, but it was not what was asked of you," Voldemort said coldly. "Strength potion."

Draco's potion was grabbed by Narcissa this time and placed it gently into the female muggles' throat. She whispered a soft sorry and the woman beneath her almost gave her a grateful glance. Narcissa backed away and soon the muggle broke free of her restraints. Her eyes had a maddening tinge to them and she ran through the wizards and witches towards the cabinet full of ingredients. The woman grabbed the cabinet and threw it towards her tormentors. Bellatrix flicked her wand and the cabinet vanished. The woman now ran towards them at full speed. Voldemort grabbed Goyle's potion and threw it at the woman. The potion was successful and it exploded, causing the muggle to scream in agony until she died, which did not take long.

"Your potions worked," Voldemort acknowledged. He wasn't surprised at Draco's success but was surprised at Goyle's. Goyle seemed to be just as surprised as his mouth was hanging open.

Next was Hermione's potion. Draught of the living dead. It was to go to the last muggle whom looked very frightened. Bellatrix gladly took Hermione's vial and shoved the liquid into the man's mouth. He swallowed and collapsed immediately. Usually it would take a few moments for the draught to work but Hermione seemed to have perfected it.

"Well done," Voldemort praised. Lucius had a look of anger written clearly across his face as he looked at Hermione and Hermione could not help but wonder why, until it hit her. He had purposely taken away the knotgrass from the cabinet so that her potion would fail. She glared at the platinum headed man and returned his heated gaze. Then Hermione smirked, because she knew that she had won, while he had lost. This made Lucius grow even angrier and had to make sure he did not move for he did not trust himself not to hex the little witch.

After Voldemort had watched the exchange between Lucius and Hermione, he then gestured to Bellatrix, signaling that she may finish off the muggle. A wide smirk appeared on Bellatrix's face as she approached the muggle. She had a wild look in her eyes that made her look positively insane, a look that made Hermione go weak in the knees. Hermione's breath hitched as the woman she had kissed the night before cast the killing curse on the muggle before her.

Narcissa could not help but watch Hermione's reaction to her older sister. She was amazed that Hermione was not terrified of her sister, who had terrified herself on occasion. Nevertheless, she was worried for her son who had so obviously fallen for the brunette. She sighed, walked over to her husband and linked her arm through his. She then looked at Voldemort as he began to speak.

"Tomorrow's test will be the most difficult. It will test how each of you do under an immense amount of pressure. That is all that I will disclose to you, however I do suggest practicing some spells," Voldemort offered. He then moved his attention to Narcissa. "Bring the boys back to the manor, while I have a chat with Bellatrix, Hermione, and your husband," Voldemort stated. Narcissa nodded in response and shooed the Slytherin boys up towards the manor.

As soon as Voldemort knew that Narcissa and the boys were in the manor he cast crucio on Lucius. He screamed in pain while Hermione gasped and jumped backwards into Bellatrix. She had not been expecting that. It wasn't that the unforgivable curse frightened her, it was just the suddenness of it.

Bellatrix was a little surprised when Hermione had jumped back into her but she quickly wrapped her arms around the young witch. Bellatrix breathed in her scent and traced soothing circles on Hermione's stomach. She hadn't been surprised at the curse being sent. When you were a Death Eater it was something that you got used to.

"That will never happen again Lucius," Voldemort said harshly as he removed the curse. "You will apologize to Hermione. Now," Voldemort demanded. Lucius slowly got up and looked at Hermione. If looks could kill, Hermione knew that she would be dead.

"I deeply apologize Miss Granger," Lucius hissed out. Hermione knew that he wasn't sorry, but Voldemort seemed content with it.

Bellatrix glanced at everyone with a confused look on her face. Obviously she had missed something.

"What did he do?" Bellatrix whispered into Hermione's ear. Hermione whispered back what he had done and Bellatrix grew very angry. She let go of Hermione and made her way to Lucius. Just as she was about to hex him, Voldemort yelled enough and all movement stopped.

"This business is done. I will see you all tomorrow," and with that, Voldemort disapparated.

Lucius quickly made his way back to the manor, wanting to be away from Bellatrix and what he considered a wench. Bellatrix however, had plans that did not involve heading back to the manor. She grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her close.

"Were you actually planning on studying? Because if not I can think of a better way to spend the time," Bellatrix whispered into the brunette's ear.

Hermione smirked and leaned into Bellatrix.

"Like what?" she asked, acting coy which made Bellatrix purr in response.

"You'll see," the dark haired witch promised and then led Hermione towards the forest.

The forest was east to the lake and looked dark and menacing even during the day. It was obvious that it was huge and Hermione wondered if it was anything like the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. As if reading her mind Bellatrix said, "Yes, and remember that there are some monsters that can not be controlled," she whispered and paused to bite Hermione's earlobe, showing that by monsters she had meant herself not being able to be controlled.

Hermione gasped and felt her whole body tingle. She knew that she wanted Bellatrix, that much was obvious, but she was still cautious. As she should be.

Bellatrix smirked at the reaction the brunette had and could she her internally going over so many different scenarios of what could happen. Good and bad. She decided to stay silent and kept leading Hermione into the dark forest.

Howls could be heard and Hermione could swear that she heard someone behind them. She stayed as calm as possible and kept following Bellatrix. Hermione raised her head to look at the sky, only to find it completely obstructed by the branches of the enormous trees. While doing this, she wasn't paying attention to where she was stepping and she tripped on a tree root.

Bellatrix looked down at her with an amused look on her face that made Hermione scowl. Before Bellatrix could give her a sarcastic comment, Hermione muttered a spell that caused Bellatrix to fall down as well.

This caused an amused look to come across Hermione and she had to stop herself from laughing. She bit her lip in an attempt to stop herself and it seemed to work. Hermione gave Bellatrix a playful look that made the Death Eater crave her even more.

"Is that how we're going to play it?" Bellatrix growled softly to Hermione.

Hermione leaned closer to Bellatrix as if she was going to kiss her but instead whispered expelliarmus. Bellatrix had been completely unprepared and her wand flew somewhere behind them. A shocked look crossed Bellatrix's face while Hermione was smirking like crazy. Hermione took this opportunity and ran from Bellatrix.

It took Bellatrix a moment to gather her thoughts but then quickly realized that this was a simple game. Hunter and prey. She smiled at this thought and found her wand before chasing after Hermione.

Hermione jumped over the giant tree roots and would periodically glance behind her. For a couple of moments she wondered if Bellatrix was going to come after her but she soon received her answer as she heard a spell being shot from behind her. Hermione ducked and quickly sent a spell back before changing directions.

Bellatrix easily deflected Hermione's spell and kept after her. For a moment Bellatrix stopped because she had lost sight of Hermione. She listened for any noise that would give the younger witch away and she wasn't disappointed. Bellatrix ran towards the direction Hermione was in. Once Bellatrix saw Hermione she transformed into her Death Eater cloud of black smoke and chased after Hermione that way.

When Hermione glanced behind her she couldn't see Bellatrix but the cloud of smoke. _'Not playing fair,'_ Hermione thought to herself. Soon Bellatrix had caught up to her and the black smoke clung onto Hermione. Losing concentration, Hermione tripped over a tree root and fell forward. With Bellatrix holding onto her, she had managed to make it so that Hermione landed on her back instead of her front.

A soft laugh could be heard from the smoke as it turned back into Bellatrix. Bellatrix was currently straddling the younger witch with her hands on the ground beside Hermione's head. Both were breathing hard after their run but it just seemed to make it more erotic.

"You've been caught," Bellatrix said seductively. She knew exactly what she wanted to do to the girl, but where to start was the question.

"It seems I have," Hermione stated back. The brunette slowly inched her lips closer to Bellatrix's and whispered, "The hunter has caught her prey."

Bellatrix's eyes filled with glee. Beneath her was a beautiful witch who was willingly giving herself to the dark, twisted, sadistic Death Eater. Bellatrix could not have been happier.

"Hm, it seems I have. Now the question is what to do with my prey..." Bellatrix's voiced trailed off as she stared deeply into Hermione's big brown orbs. Being that close, Bellatrix could hear Hermione's heart beating erratically inside her chest.

Bellatrix slowly leaned down as if to kiss Hermione but at the last second she used her nose to move Hermione's head to the side. This exposed Hermione's neck and Bellatrix bit down hard on it. Hermione moaned loudly as Bellatrix's teeth kept working their way on Hermione's neck. Bellatrix was a little surprised at this. She had expected a scream at first, not a moan. But that only excited Bellatrix more.

Bellatrix let her body flush with Hermione's, eliciting a moan from the both of them. The dark haired witch moved her right hand from where it was and placed it on Hermione's hip. Still biting Hermione's neck, she slowly moved her mouth toward the young witch's ear.

"Did someone like being bit? Hm?" Bellatrix toyed, and used her teeth to play with Hermione's earlobe. Hermione moaned in response which made Bellatrix give a slight laugh. "And how would someone like this?" she asked as she sunk her nails deep into Hermione's hip. The brunette gasped at the unexpectedness of the act but soon moaned again. This made Bellatrix smile as she knew that she and Hermione would have loads of fun together.

"Tsk tsk Granger," Bellatrix whispered into her ear. "What a naughty witch you are. Who would've guessed that the brightest witch of her age was a masochist, hm?" Bellatrix taunted.

Hermione turned her head which made Bellatrix move hers. Hermione stared at her in a confused manner. She had never thought herself a masochist and had thought that only the crazy enjoyed pain.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked softly.

"Well you see my pet, you like pain," Bellatrix stated bluntly. "You like it when I do this," she bit down hard on the untouched side of Hermione's neck. "And this," she said and quickly bit her lip hard until it bled, making sure to soothe it and suck on it afterward. Bellatrix heard Hermione's moans throughout this and they made Bellatrix grind herself into Hermione. "Oh yes my pet, we are going to have lots of fun," she said seductively and with that, their lips finally connected.

...

**A/N: Sorry to leave it at that but this is as far as these two go for today. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Thanks for reading ~**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Jealousy

Bellatrix and Hermione had had a fun adventure out in the forest and neither of them wanted to stop, but once their stomachs began to growl they decided to head back to the manor.

Hermione had bite marks and hickeys all along her neck so they used a glamor charm to conceal them from the others. They held hands as they made their way back to the manor, chatting quietly about anything.

Once they arrived back at the manor they found out that they were in fact late for dinner and received a daunting glare from Lucius when they entered the main dining room.

"And what, may I ask, kept you from being here on time?" he scowled at the two women.

"Mind your own business," Bellatrix snapped and made her way to an open seat. Hermione did the same but instead of snapping she apologized.

Lucius glared at them both some more before clapping his hands for the elves. As soon as the food was on the table everyone began eating.

Draco ate while casually glancing at Hermione. She seemed to be glowing and he could not help but notice the looks that she kept giving his aunt. He did not understand what was going on between the two of them but he was determined to find out.

Everyone ate in silence, the only noises being heard were the sounds of forks hitting plates, and everyone seemed relieved when dinner was over.

Hermione left the dining room last and planned on following Bellatrix but she felt a tug on her shirt.

"Hey, can we talk?" Draco asked softly.

The brunette looked at him and then back to where Bellatrix was going before nodding her head and sighing softly. Too softly for him to hear.

Draco smiled at her and guided them to an empty room. He sat down one of the couches and beckoned for Hermione to sit down next to him.

The room was spacious and was similar to a lot of the other rooms but this room felt less dark than others, although Hermione could not place why.

After dinner Bellatrix had turned around to see where Hermione was only to see her following Draco somewhere. Curious as to what they were going to do, Bellatrix followed them and stayed outside of the room, listening attentively. She knew that she probably should not snoop but she had seen how Draco looked at Hermione and she did not want her nephew trying anything.

"I've noticed you and my aunt talking a lot, is there something going on? Is she bugging you?" Draco asked Hermione who shook her head.

"No she's not bugging me Draco. I actually quite enjoy her company," she said smiling and stopping a blush that tried to creep onto her face.

"Oh, that's good," he said and looked down at his fingers as he moved them around nervously. He wanted to tell Hermione how he felt but his nerves were stopping him.

They were silent for awhile, and Bellatrix wondered what they were doing but when Hermione spoke again she knew it had just been an awkward silence.

"Well, if that's all then I think I'm going to go for a walk," Hermione said and stood up.

"No!" Draco said loudly and grabbed Hermione's hand. "Sorry, um...please sit back down. There's something else that I wanted to tell you."

Hermione took her hand back and sat down, her head swarming with ideas of what he could want to talk about but her mind settled on one thing. He was going to confess to her.

"Hermione I really like you. I like you more than a friend," he started and then moved closer to Hermione on the couch. Hermione tried to move back away from Draco but found herself stuck at the arm rest. "I want to be with you," he said softly.

Hermione stared at him and blinked. She knew what to say however she also knew that it would hurt him.

Bellatrix felt herself tense at his confession. She had already known that Draco fancied Hermione but it still made her mad. She had marked Hermione, claimed her, and now Draco decided it was time to confess? No, that most certainly did not fly with Bellatrix. Granted, Draco was unaware of Bellatrix and Hermione's attraction to each other but the Death Eater did not seem to care about that.

"I'm very sorry Draco, I don't feel the same way for you. To me, you're just a really good-" her sentence was stopped by Draco placing his lips on hers. Hermione's eyes widened and pushed Draco off of her. "What the hell was that?" she asked loudly.

She got up off of the couch and started to move slowly away, but Draco copied her every move.

"Please Hermione, can't you just give me a chance?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

"Draco, I'm sorry but no. Please-"she stopped her sentence when he grabbed her wrists. "Let go of me now," Hermione demanded with an angry look in her eye.

Bellatrix had had enough of just listening and quickly walked into the room. Draco's turned around when he heard the new body come in the room and his eyes widened when he saw his aunt.

"Move away from Hermione," Bellatrix hissed out angrily, and stalked towards the two of them.

"Aunt Bellatrix, what are you doing here?" Draco asked with confusion on his face but soon worry encompassed his face instead as he saw the look on his aunt's face. It was one of anger and jealousy.

Hermione moved her wrists out of Draco's grasp since he had become distracted and she moved in front of Bellatrix. Hermione's eyes darkened in lust as she saw the different emotions that Bellatrix was having but she quickly shook her head of those thoughts.

"Bella come on, leave him alone," Hermione said. Bellatrix looked at her but quickly moved her attention back to her nephew.

"Do not touch her again," the black haired woman hissed out possessively. "She's mine."

Draco looked at the two oddly before commenting.

"What do you mean she's yours?" he asked. Hermione was about to chastise Bellatrix for making her sound like an object but Bellatrix talked first.

"I mean she's mine. I get to touch her, no one else. Got it?" she warned.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. This was not going well, and from the look that Draco had on his face she knew that this would end just as badly as it started. She figured that she'd be packing her things soon enough.

"Hermione what the hell? She's my aunt! She's like thirty years older than you!" he said as if he had a bad taste left on his tongue.

"Draco, I'm sorry..."Hermione said again, not knowing what else to say.

Bellatrix had had enough. She grabbed Hermione by the arm and dragged her out of the room. Hermione yelped as she was grabbed and dragged around the manor until they reached a dark room.

Hermione was about to ask why Bellatrix had just dragged her up here when she was pinned against the back of the door. The brunette moaned at the contact and looked up at Bellatrix, noticing her eyes stilled filled with jealousy.

"You're mine," she said with the same possessive tone as before.

"I'm not an object Bellatrix," Hermione said sternly, but because she felt aroused it did not come out as harshly as she had wished it to be.

Bellatrix smirked and placed a hard kiss on the younger witch's lips.

"No, but that doesn't mean that you aren't mine. Now, let's see those marks from before," Bellatrix took out her wand and removed the glamor charm. She smiled as she saw the bruises that had formed. "Those look quite nice on you," she whispered, moving her mouth to Hermione's ear. "How about we give you some more," she said and then bit Hermione's neck.

Hermione moaned out and wrapped her arms around Bellatrix, with earlier worries forgotten. Bellatrix smiled as she soothed the bite out with her tongue and quickly cast a charm so that no one could hear them in her room.

Bellatrix began to pull at the brunette's shirt.

"Off," she demanded and was happy when Hermione immediately complied. She flung the shirt somewhere behind her, not caring where it landed.

Hermione's heart beat began to quicken and she quickly tried to unlace the Death Eater's corset. She bit her lip in frustration and was relieved when Bellatrix took it off herself. The brunette's eyes darkened in lust at Bellatrix's bare chest and moved her hands to cup her breasts.

Bellatrix's eyes fluttered shut for a moment before slapping Hermione's hands away.

"You can only look, no touching," the black haired woman smirked and started to kiss Hermione again. Bellatrix's tongue swept across Hermione's bottom lip and was happy when her tongue had room to plunge into Hermione's mouth.

The brunette squirmed a little in frustration. She wanted to touch the woman in front of her. Hermione heard Bellatrix chuckle at her frustration so she bit down on the black haired woman's bottom lip.

Bellatrix smirked against Hermione's lips.

"Is that how you want to play?" the Death Eater growled and pressed her body tighter onto Hermione.

The brunette's eyes darkened and she struggled against Bellatrix, knowing that she would just be adding more contact.

Bellatrix laughed softly and roughly put her left leg between Hermione's thighs. Hermione moaned and she closed her eyes. Bellatrix ran her hands over the brunette's bare stomach and teasingly inched her way to Hermione's breasts.

Hermione let out a whimper and again tried to move her hands to touch Bellatrix but her hands were quickly brought together and held high over the brunette's head.

"Hm, seems like someone doesn't want to listen," Bellatrix said and squeezed Hermione's wrists tighter under her grip. Hermione held back a moan and again squirmed beneath Bellatrix, who in turn laughed softly. "If you listen like a good little witch you may just get to touch me," she said and paused to nibble on Hermione's ear. Hermione felt her knees buckle slightly but was held in place by Bellatrix's leg in between hers.

Bellatrix took Hermione's wand from her back pocket and magically bound her wrists together above her head, dropping the wand onto the ground next to them when she was done.

When the Death Eater removed her hand that had been holding Hermione's wrists the brunette tried to move her hands back down but found that she could not. She kept trying to move them but found that there was a pressure around her wrists that tightened each time she tried to move them.

"It'll just keep getting tighter and tighter love," Bellatrix whispered before biting Hermione's neck again, harder this time than she had done before.

Hermione squirmed again as she realized that the pain and pressure from her wrists was making her wet and moved against Bellatrix's leg and moaned.

Bellatrix smirked knowingly at Hermione and kept biting and teasing at her neck. She used one hand to caress Hermione's left breast and used the other hand to undo the younger witch's jeans. Bellatrix moved her leg so that she could push Hermione's jeans off of her but quickly placed her leg back once the jeans were gone.

Hermione whimpered lightly when the contact was lost but moaned again once she felt the black haired woman's leg back.

Bellatrix moved her head down to Hermione's breast and enveloped a nipple in her mouth, making Hermione arch into her touch. Smirking, the Death Eater brought her hands down to Hermione's thighs and scratched lightly.

The brunette shuddered at the feeling and tried to move her hands again, this time yelling out in pain as the invisible bind pressed tightly against her wrist. The pain was soon replaced with a pleasurable feeling.

"What a naughty witch you are," Bellatrix whispered as she moved her mouth back to Hermione's, letting them barely touch the brunette's lips. "Getting off on the pain..." Bellatrix trailed off and bit Hermione's bottom lip, sucking on it afterward to clean up the blood.

Hermione looked at Bellatrix's lip that was covered in her blood and she crashed their lips together. With each kiss Hermione would move her lower half against Bellatrix's leg.

With her hands, Bellatrix pinned Hermione's hips to the door and made a tsk sound.

"Someone seems to be quite impatient," Bellatrix said, lust dripping from her every word.

"Please," Hermione whispered.

"Please what?" Bellatrix asked and removed her leg from its current position. She slowly pulled down Hermione's underwear but immediately moved her hands back to the witch's hips, making sure not to touch where she knew Hermione wanted her.

Hermione squirmed and tried to form words but found it very difficult.

Bellatrix bit down harshly on Hermione's neck, making the brunette cry out in pleasurable pain.

"Please what?" Bellatrix asked commandingly.

"P-please," Hermione stuttered while biting her lip. "Please t-touch me." Bellatrix laughed.

"Oh but I am touching you," Bellatrix said teasingly, and ran her nails roughly down Hermione's thighs.

Hermione whimpered in frustration and knew she would not get what she wanted unless she was direct, even if being direct made her uncomfortable. She took in a breath and finally said what she wanted.

"Bella please fuck me," she asked and was delighted when Bellatrix immediately obliged and put three fingers inside of her.

Bellatrix moaned at the feeling of being inside of Hermione and she latched her lips onto her breast again. She moved her thumb so that with each thrust of her fingers she would put pressure on Hermione's clit as well.

The brunette spread her legs a little wider for Bellatrix to have more room and she could already feel her walls clench around the beautiful woman's fingers.

Knowing the witch was close, Bellatrix added another finger and quickened her pace. Hermione moaned loudly and bit her lip again.

Bellatrix bit Hermione's nipple and smirked when she heard Hermione scream as her orgasm hit. The black haired woman did not stop moving her fingers until she felt Hermione's orgasm finish. She slowly removed her hand and her head from Hermione. She licked her fingers clean and then looked at Hermione's panting form.

Hermione opened her eyes and looked at Bellatrix. She tried to find words to say but none came to mind.

"You listened quite nicely," Bellatrix purred and bent down to pick up Hermione's wand. Silently, she undid the spell she had cast on Hermione's arms. Hermione sighed contently when she could move her wrists and could now see the bruise that was beginning to form, making her smile. "So I suppose I'll let you have what you want," Bellatrix said and pulled Hermione in for a hard kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: There were a few questions regarding Hermione's virginity and I want to apologize for not addressing this is the last chapter. I meant to write that Hermione had lost her virginity in her fourth year to Viktor Krum. I'm sorry for forgetting about this.**

Chapter 9

The Final Task

Hermione awoke with a warmth against her back and an arm draped across her stomach. She tilted her head slightly and saw Bellatrix sleeping peacefully. The young witch smiled at her companion and her smile grew as she recalled the events of the previous night. She moved her hand to her neck and faintly traced her fingers along where she knew bruises to be.

Next to her, Bellatrix started to stir and her eyes slowly opened. Bellatrix smiled when she saw that she was holding Hermione and she pulled her in closer. Hermione giggled softly.

"Good morning," Hermione said sweetly, and turned herself around so that she was facing Bellatrix.

"Mm, good morning," Bellatrix purred and leaned forward to give Hermione a kiss. She tried to deepen the kiss but Hermione pulled back, making Bellatrix pout.

"Later," Hermione promised. "I have a task to do soon," she stated. Hermione slowly wiggled out of the Death Eater's grasp and began putting on her clothes that were scattered across the floor. Bellatrix watched the young witch dress with a small smile on her face.

Hermione picked up her wand and then made her way to a mirror. She began to cast charms to cover up the marks on her neck. Once she finished she gasped and dropped her wand. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth and her eyes grew large in fear.

Bellatrix shot out of bed and over to Hermione.

"What's wrong?" she asked and wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"Draco. He knows! What are we going to do?! I … he's my … damn it!" Hermione said quickly and looked worried. Bellatrix laughed lightly. "It's not funny!" Hermione said angrily and turned around to face Bellatrix. "He's one of my only friends! And you saw how freaked out he was yesterday," Hermione bent down and picked up her wand, twiddling it between her fingers.

"Hermione, relax. Don't worry about it," Bellatrix said calmly and began to slowly put on her clothes.

Hermione was about to snap at Bellatrix and say that she should not be acting so calm but there was a knock on the door. Hermione jumped but visibly relaxed when she heard who was on the other side of the door.

"Miss Hermione, you will be late for breakfast if you don't hurry," Marsh said. Hermione moved to the door and opened it slightly to let Marsh in. Once the house elf was inside she closed the door and knelt down in front of Marsh.

"Thank you Marsh. How did you know I was here?" she asked kindly.

Bellatrix leaned back against a nearby wall and watched the interaction with curiousity. She did not understand Hermione's liking for house elves but she kept quiet.

"Well Miss, Marsh went to your room but it was empty so Marsh used her magic to find where you were. Is Miss angry with Marsh?" she asked quietly and clamped her hands together.

"No no, Marsh you didn't do anything wrong. Thank you very much for coming to find me," Hermione said, immediately reassuring Marsh. Marsh held out her hand for Hermione to take.

"Marsh will lead you to breakfast Miss," Marsh said with a smile as Hermione took her hand and stood back up.

Hermione opened the door to leave but turned around to see Bellatrix.

"I'll see you later at the task?" Hermione asked with hope in her voice. Bellatrix smirked and nodded her head in response.

Hermione smiled at Bellatrix and then made her way with Marsh to breakfast.

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After breakfast the four Hogwarts students followed Lucius outside for the final task. They passed the lake and went right, stopping at the entrance to the large forest. Once they had stopped walking, Voldemort appeared out of black smoke in front of them. Immediately afterward, Bellatrix emerged from behind him.

"Today is your final task before I decide what roles you will all play in our side of the war," Voldemort started and gave each of the young students calculating looks. "You will be evaluated today on your reaction time and your ability of spell casting under pressure. Each of one will work alone and fight the Death Eaters that will be hunting you down. There are no rules. Use whatever spells you want. You will be out there for three hours before the task will end. You will have ten minutes before the task begins. Do I make myself clear?" Voldemort asked. Hermione, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle all nodded their heads. "Good. Then get going."

They all made their way into the forest. Before being hidden by the trees, Hermione looked back at Bellatrix who gave her a supportive wink. Hermione winked back and then hid herself in the trees. She knew that the others had mostly gone right so she turned left.

She kept walking through the forest and would cover up her tracks. After what she thought to be ten minutes she became very cautious with her steps and with her surroundings.

Suddenly, she heard a twig snap behind her and she spun around and silently sent the spell expelliarmus but the Death Eater flicked their wrist and cast it aside. They began to duel silently. Hermione would take a few steps backwards with each spell but the Death Eater kept moving forward.

Hermione quickly cast protego and then raised her wand at the tree and whispered deprimo. This caused a large, heavy branch over top of the Death Eater to fall and trap him between the harsh forest floor and the branch. At the impact, the Death Eater dropped his wand and it rolled away from him.

Hermione ran away and only stopped once she could no longer hear the Death Eater's cries of pain. She quickly tried to catch her breath but was unable to when a spell was cast her way. Hermione dodged the spell and sent a spell back in the direction the original spell had come from.

"Furnunculus!" Hermione yelled at her attacker and the Death Eater fell to the ground, his whole body now covered in boils. Then, silently, Hermione cast incarcerous. Ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped around the Death Eater's body.

She left the area quickly and this time was able to catch her breath before another attacker came her way.

"I've been looking for you," Lucius said as he took of his mask. He shot a couple of spells at Hermione but she managed to block them all. He began to look frustrated when none of his spells were connecting.

"Having a little trouble?" Hermione taunted uncharacteristically and cast the spell obscuro at him, which made a blindfold appear over his eyes.

"Shut it you disgusting witch! You won't pass this test if it's the last thing I do!" he yelled at her angrily and cast a spell to remove the blindfold.

Minutes passed and neither of them were easing up on their spells. Every once in a while one of their spells would pass through and connect with their target. So far Lucius had a huge gash in her left arm and was using it to clutch his bleeding stomach. Hermione had a large wound in her thigh and had a cut on her chest above her breasts.

Eventually Lucius tripped over a small tree root and Hermione took that opportunity and cast descendo at the forest floor underneath Lucius. The ground collapsed which sent Lucius flying down into the earth. His wand flew out of his hand and landed far away, but Hermione did not notice.

When Hermione heard a thud she limped over to the edge of the deep hole and could barely make out Lucius's figure. He was screaming in pain and started to yell at her.

"You bitch! I'll get you for this you whore! Bellatrix won't be able to save you once I get a hold of you!" he screamed.

Hermione looked down at him in anger and cast silencio on him. She smiled to herself when she could no longer hear him.

She walked away from the hole and quickly cast a few healing spells. They weren't perfect because she was tired but they would have to do.

The young witch walked far away from where Lucius was and was pleased when a loud voice rang through the forest.

"The task is done. Send sparks up to signal where you are and someone will retrieve you," the voice said.

Hermione sent up green sparks and leaned against a tree, waiting for someone to get her.

Suddenly, a man appeared and held out his arm. She was not sure who he was but she took her arm anyway and they apparated out of the forest.

She was the second one back. Crabbe was being supported by another Death Eater. His legs looked broken and was unconscious.

Goyle arrived next with blood trickling down his face. He also had a limp and his arm seemed bent at a funny angle.

Next Draco arrived with Bellatrix. He was clutching his wand arm and his left eye was badly bruised.

Bellatrix moved away from Draco and walked quickly to Hermione.

"Are you alright?" Bellatrix asked and looked her over.

"I'm fine. Better than everyone else anyway," Hermione stated and leaned into Bellatrix slightly for support. Draco looked at them both and then looked away quickly.

"Everyone is to get healed here and then Voldemort will join us shortly," said the Death Eater that had brought Hermione out of the forest.

The Death Eater's helped the three students heal while Bellatrix had already healed Hermione.

Once Draco was healed he walked over to Bellatrix and Hermione.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that I think I overreacted last night and that I'm not going to say anything. But at the same time I'm not completely okay with this," he said quietly so that only they could hear. Hermione smiled at him.

"Thank you Draco and I completely understand," the brunette said and gave him a brief hug. He looked to Bellatrix for a thanks as well but she just looked away in a bored manner.

Suddenly, like earlier, Voldemort appeared.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and paid attention to Voldemort. Crabbe had woken up and sat on the ground looking up at Voldemort.

"I have made my decisions based on the three tasks that you have all done," Voldemort started. "Firstly, Crabbe and Goyle shall become snatchers once their schooling is finished. However I expect you both to listen intently while at school for important information," the two boys looked at each other in slight disappointment but nodded their heads in acceptance. "Hermione and Draco shall have the honour of becoming Death Eaters."

There was a moment of silence before Voldemort continued.

"You shall be initiated tonight and then each of you will receive your tasks that are to be completed at Hogwarts," he said pointedly before moving on. "Are all of the Death Eater's back yet?" he asked.

"No my Lord, Lucius has not returned," the Death Eater near Goyle said.

"Go fetch him," Voldemort instructed the other Death Eaters. "The four of you can go back up to the Manor and rest," he said and then disappeared in his black smoke.

Everyone does as they were instructed and an hour later the Death Eater's come back.

The students were in a lounging room with Narcissa as she tended more to the wounds when the Death Eater's returned. As they came into the room Voldemort appeared looking angry.

"Why was I summoned?" he asked, with his snake like eyes glared at his followers. "Yaxley. Explain," he hissed at the Death Eater who had brought Hermione out of the forest.

Everyone who had already been in the room stood up, with the exception of Crabbe, and all looked confused as to what was going on.

Bellatrix entered the room and walked over to Hermione with a look on her face that was a mixture of happiness and sourness.

"What's going on?" the brunette asks and Bellatrix did not answer, waiting for Yaxley to explain.

"My Lord, when we were searching for Lucius we found his wand," Yaxley produced Lucius's wand from his pocket. "We then found a deep hole in the forest where we found him. Dead. He seemed to have bled out," he informed everyone.

Narcissa let out a loud cry and wrapped her arms around Draco. Draco just stood there, looking perplexed.

"N-no ..." Hermione stammered and took an unsteady step backwards, causing herself to fall. "I-I didn't mean to," she whimpered as she spoke.

All eyes in the room were now focused on Hermione.

Bellatrix bent down next to Hermione and went to place her hand on her shoulder but the brunette flinched away.

"What do you mean?" Voldemort asked. He did not sound angry but he did not sound pleased either.

Hermione started to shake slightly and her eyes were fixated on the ground.

"We were dueling. He was bleeding a lot I guess and he tripped. I made the ground disappear and he fell. I didn't know he didn't have his wand. H-he was yelling at me so … so I cast silencio on him and walked away. I didn't think he would ..." she said very quickly, not stopping to take a breath between words.

Shakily she looked up and looked from Bellatrix to Voldemort.

"It's my fault. I killed him."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Black Manor

She had tried to keep her cool. She tried to seem indifferent, but as soon as it was revealed that Lucius was dead she could not do either of those things.

When Bellatrix had escorted her out of the room she had said nothing. She allowed herself to be guided to wherever Bellatrix planned to take her. Hermione could feel her feet moving forward but she did not feel as if she was the one moving them.

The young witch felt bad for what she had done. She had not purposefully tried to kill him but the guilt still stood strong within her. Hermione did not like Lucius but she did not wish him dead.

Bellatrix on the other hand was very proud of Hermione, although she was worried at the witch's current state.

"Is he really dead?" Hermione whispered to Bellatrix when the dark haired witch had sat them both down on a bed.

"Yes," Bellatrix whispered back. "Don't worry about the others. The Dark Lord might be a little mad but I doubt he'll do anything about it," she stated.

Hermione stood up and began walking around the room. Bellatrix stayed where she was on the bed and watched her.

"Draco won't forgive me. It's not like I expect his forgiveness but …," Hermione trailed off, not knowing what to say. "I mean, I knew that I would most likely end up killing someone but I didn't expect … I just …," she tried to finish her thoughts but she found it not possible.

"It'll blow over soon enough," Bellatrix said but soon realized that that wasn't what Hermione wanted to hear.

"Oh, it'll blow over will it?" Hermione snapped angrily. "Well isn't that wonderful. While I wait for that to happen what do you expect me to do?"

At this Bellatrix stood up, walked towards Hermione and placed her hands on the brunette's waist.

"Sleep. I expect you to sleep. You have had a long, tiring day and you'll feel better tomorrow," Bellatrix said softly.

Hermione was taken aback by how nice and sweet Bellatrix was being. She knew that Bellatrix acted differently around her but she could really see that Bellatrix was trying to calm her down. The young witch gave a small smile and kissed the Death Eater lightly on the lips.

Without another word, Bellatrix guided Hermione into bed. The black haired witch took out her wand and quickly transfigured their clothing into pajamas and they settled into bed.

Hermione curled into Bellatrix who had placed her arm around her waist, holding the brunette close against her.

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When Hermione awoke she was surprised to find that Bellatrix was not with her. Slowly, she got up and when her feet hit the ground she almost fell. For a moment she wondered why her legs were so shaky and then she remembered what had happened yesterday. She took in a deep breath and then exhaled loudly. All she wanted to do was to get back underneath the heavy black covers and curl up, but she knew that she shouldn't.

Finding her wand, Hermione transfigured her pajamas into black jeans, a green t-shirt, and a grey cardigan. She opened the door to the hallway and made her way through the house. She wandered throughout the manor until her could hear voices. Following the voices, Hermione walked down a long, dark corridor and stopped once she reached the source.

"She is not staying here anymore!" Narcissa hissed out angrily. Hermione was in front of the room where she saw Narcissa and Bellatrix talking. Neither had noticed her presence yet.

"For Merlin's sake Cissy I don't see why you're so upset. Lucius was a - ," Bellatrix snapped back but was cut off by her younger sister.

"Don't you dare insult him right now Bellatrix," Narcissa seethed. "This is my home. I get to decide who stays, and she is not staying here."

"Listen, I'll leave. I'm really sorry about what happened. I don't want to disturb you all anymore than I have. I'll go back to Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays," Hermione said quickly while entering the room. She was not all that surprised by what Narcissa was saying. The young witch had figured that she would not be able to stay here after what she had done, whether it was on purpose or not.

The two older witches were surprised to see her enter the room. Narcissa fought hard not to draw her wand upon the girl while Bellatrix made her way over to the brunette.

"You will not be going back to Hogwarts," a cold, dark voice echoed throughout the room. Seconds later Voldemort appeared in the middle of the room, his wand perched in his bony hand. "There are many things that I need to discuss with you before the holidays are over," he stated.

Quickly, and very excitedly, Bellatrix came up with a solution.

"She can stay with me at the Black Manor, my Lord," she suggested and looked at the brunette for affirmation that this would be a good idea.

"Yes, that would be best. I do believe we still have initiations to perform, however I have decided that we will do them at the New Year's Eve ball. Sometime before that I shall summon you through Bellatrix so that we can discuss your mission. This means that Hermione will only be here for the ball and on few separate occasions. Does this satisfy you Narcissa?" Voldemort asked.

Narcissa knew that it wouldn't matter if she said that she did not want Hermione to ever step foot in her home again so she just nodded her consent.

"Good. Then I suggest you leave as soon as you can," with that Voldemort disapparated from the room.

Between the three witches in the room it was very quiet. No one said a word, and everyone had different facial expressions. Bellatrix was looking quite pleased with herself and excited for her to have Hermione all to herself. Narcissa still looked angry and had to hold her tongue from lashing out at Hermione. Deep down, she knew that the girl had not meant to kill her husband. However, this did not stop her anger.

The youngest witch in the room was uncomfortable. She honestly felt bad for what she had caused Narcissa but knew that nothing she could say or do would change a thing. Pulling her from her thoughts, Bellatrix grabbed Hermione's arm.

"Come on, let's go. The sooner you pack, the sooner we can leave," Bellatrix said lowly into Hermione's ear. The brunette blushed and let herself be led out by the Death Eater. Hermione almost said something to Narcissa as they were leaving the room but thought better of it.

Bellatrix guided them through the dark manor. They turned many corners until they were finally at Hermione's room.

The brunette packed her things back into her trunk in an organized fashion, as she always did except this time she preferred to do it the muggle way.

"You know, if you used your wand it would be much faster," Bellatrix stated impatiently. Hermione gave a soft little laugh.

"I know but I prefer to do it this way. Besides, don't you have things to pack? Shouldn't you go do that?" Hermione inquired as she folded her shirts neatly.

Bellatrix muttered something underneath her breath before leaving the room, presumably to go pack, but Hermione wasn't sure seeing as Bellatrix could be somewhat unpredictable.

The young witch was soon done her packing. She put on her dark grey coat and started to make her way to the entrance of the manor.

She hadn't been walking long before she ran into Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco. They all stood there in an awkward silence, none of them really knowing what to say. Hermione wanted to apologize to Draco but feared it was unwelcome.

Draco was angry, upset, and confused towards Hermione at the moment so he kept his mouth shut. He did not want to say anything for fear of regretting it later or that if he started talking that he may begin to cry.

"Are you leaving?" Crabbe asked after noticing the trunk.

"Yes I am. I'll be back on occasion and for the ball but other than that I'll be staying elsewhere for the remainder of the holiday," Hermione responded. Draco felt a ping of jealousy when he realized that she would be most likely be staying with his aunt but at the same time anger filled his heart.

Before any comments could be made, Bellatrix rounded the corner. She eyed the three wizards and witch before speaking.

"Come on then pet," Bellatrix said to Hermione and walked past the wizards and witch.

Hermione gave her friends an awkward smile and she muttered a goodbye before following the eldest Black sister down the hall.

Catching up with Bellatrix proved to be difficult. The older witch moved at a very fast pace and by the time Hermione had caught up with her they were at the main door.

"Once we're outside the gates we can disapparate to my manor," the dark witch exited through the doors and beckoned for Hermione to follow.

They were nearing the gates when Marsh, the house elf, appeared in front of Hermione.

"Miss Hermione is leaving?" Marsh said quietly while she fidgeted with her hands.

The brunette bent down and took the house elf's hands in her own.

"I am. I'll be back though for the New Year Eve's ball. I'll miss you," Hermione smiled and then gave Marsh a hug.

Marsh seemed stunned for a moment before returning the hug, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Marsh will be missing you too," she said and gave a small smile.

Bellatrix looked away from the two and stood awkwardly to the side. She had never thought of house elves the way that the young witch did and it made her slightly uncomfortable. However, she wanted to be respectful of Hermione's views and decided to wait until a more appropriate time to ask questions.

The two pulled away from each other and Marsh disappeared back into the manor.

Hermione stood up and gave Bellatrix a smile before continuing on their path to the gates. The brunette walked next to the Death Eater and intertwined their hands together. Bellatrix smirked slightly before pushing open the gates.

Bellatrix took out her wand, held onto Hermione's hand tighter and disapparated them to the Black Manor.

Hermione had closed her eyes and bit her lip as they traveled. The feeling of disapparation still did not sit right with her but she said nothing as the journey was short.

From the outside, the Black Manor seemed to be the same as the Malfoy Manor but upon entering it Hermione knew it would be completely different.

The ceilings were higher, the stone older, and the atmosphere darker.

"Welcome to the Black Manor my pet," Bellatrix whispered softly into Hermione's ear and wrapped her arms around the brunette. She nipped lightly at the witch's earlobe. "Let's get you settled shall we?" she said and proceeded to take off Hermione's coat.


End file.
